World of Steel
by Fleetlord Atvar
Summary: As Germany begins to engulf Europe on the eve of the Second World War, a mysterious portal to another world opens deep in the Ardennes Forest of France. The wars of Earth threaten to spill over into the Golden Land, still recovering from its own battles.
1. The Convoy

"**We learned in World War II that no single nation holds a monopoly on wisdom, morality or right to power, but that we must fight for the weak and promote democracy."**

**June 10****th****, 1940**

**The Ardennes Forest, France**

Simon hated driving at night. Especially on forest roads that obviously haven't been used in years. He glanced at a small map of the region taped to the bottom of the windshield and groaned. The convoy was completely lost.

"Do you have any idea where we are?" a tired voice asked from beside him.

"Well, _Leutnant_, I have determined that we are in _Frankreich_. Not much more beyond that" Simon responded, turning his eyes back to the dark road ahead illuminated by the truck's dim headlights.

Leutnant Lange let out a dry "Hah", and leaned back, folding his arms. Simon silently promised himself that he would personally break the nose of the moron who suggested this route when they were still in Darmstadt.

"Oh, I've been through those woods many times on holiday!" he said "We'll link up with the 33rd before nightfall!" he claimed.

Well, the Leutnant approved the route, and so five covered Opel Blitz trucks full of eager German youths found themselves aimlessly driving through northern France in the middle of the night, desperately trying to reach the front lines.

Simon grimaced slightly, thinking of how much simpler the entire journey could have been. The whole objective of this convoy was to reinforce the 33rd Infantry Division at Montrichard with fresh troops before making the final push to Paris. But supply issues delayed the convoy from leaving Germany and so Lange needed a shorter route to catch up with the Division. Thus, that "genius" _Stabsgefreiter _suggested this route over the longer main roads used by the rest of the invading forces. Simon was now seriously regretting keeping his doubts to himself about taking this forgotten path leading God knows where.

Simon's thoughts were interrupted by a sigh coming from his Leutnant. "Bienz, I feel like this is my fault" he said with a weary tone.

_It's about time you admitted it_ Simon thought to himself "Don't be so hard on yourself, _mein Herr_. You couldn't have possibly known that we would get lost in these woods" he consoled.

Lange held up a hand. "No, no, it is. I have to take responsibility for this blunder. When we arrive at Montrichard, I will accept the blame".

_It's looking more like "if" rather than "when" we reach them at this point _Simon briefly thought, miserably. "That's very honorable of you, sir" he responded, turning to look at his superior.

Lange took off his officer's cap and ran a hand through his black hair "Well, when I became a commissioned officer, I promised myself that I would always be an honorable leader, unlike certain others who disgraced _Deutschland_…"

Simon turned his gaze back to the road, muttering a disinterested "Uh-huh".

The Leutnant cleared his throat "When I was called to arms in defense of the Fatherland during the Great War…"

_Oh God, there he goes again_ Simon thought, looking back to the road.

As the Leutnant rambled on about trench warfare, how inept his own superiors were and how the Futher was going to lead Germany to a glorious victory over the entire planet, Simon began to feel his eyelids slowly droop down. He had been driving non-stop since the early morning. Perhaps he could pull over and ask one of the men in the back to drive. It would be nice to get some sleep…

"Bienz, look out!" Lange suddenly screamed.

Simon's head shot up as he instinctively slammed on the brakes. The truck's tires screeched as they slowed to a halt. He felt a jarring sensation, like the truck hit something. Simon couldn't see anything through the windshield, and turned to Lange. "Sir, what did-"

He was interrupted as they were rear-ended by the truck directly behind them. Both of the German's heads slammed against the dashboard. Simon was protected by the helmet he was wearing, but the Leutnant swore as he leaned back, rubbing his forehead.

"Uh, sir?" Simon tentatively asked "What happened?"

Lange waved his free hand around "It looked like a kid or something just ran across the road."

"Are you sure it wasn't some kind of animal, sir?" Simon asked, raising his voice above the loud swearing coming out of the back of the truck.

"It doesn't matter. Just get out there and remove it" Lange angrily responded.

Simon sighed, not looking forward to removing a carcass from the front of the vehicle, but he dutifully opened the door and stepped outside without argument.

As he shut the door, he groaned as he saw what happened to the convoy. The second truck in line had a bent fender and was trying to back away from the leader, while the three behind it had all swerved off the road to avoid colliding with it.

Simon turned his gaze to the front of his vehicle and froze.

"What the hell…"

Half dragged under the front of the truck and illuminated by the headlights was some kind of short, grey imp. The German kneeled down to get a better look. It was clearly dead, with its mouth hanging open and its blue tongue grotesquely hanging out. It was wearing some kind of whit headdress and brown pants. Simon noticed that its right hand was holding some kind of long wooden sword, while the other was wrapped around the grille of the truck.

"So, _Gefreiter_, what do we have to do?"

Simon's hand flew to the pistol on his side as he jolted upright. He spun around to see two startled Wehrmacht behind him.

"Don't sneak up like that." Simon said, relaxing his grip on his sidearm.

The taller soldier who looked to be a perfect example of the Aryan race, with his blonde hair and blue eyes furrowed his brow. "Why are you so tense?"

Simon meekly pointed to the dead creature. "Just…look."

The two stepped forward and immediately took on looks of disgust and curiosity. "What is it?" the younger soldier asked, before covering his mouth.

Simon shook his head "I have absolutely no idea."

The taller soldier was about to say something, but was interrupted by the sound of a door slamming shut and Lange's voice crying out "What is taking so long? How hard is it to remove…" He trailed off as he saw the imp. "What in God's name is that thing?"

Simon shrugged "I don't know, sir."

Lange's eyes drifted over to the two _Soldats_, who both shook their heads.

A sharp, cat-like cry suddenly came out of the woods around the path. The two _Soldats _unslung their KAR 98k rifles and scanned the area with their eyes. Lange looked directly at Simon. "Bienz, get your MP."

"_Jawohl_." Simon quickly said as he walked to the door of the truck to grab his submachine gun under the dashboard. As he fished around in the dark for it, he heard the younger soldier exclaim "Look, there's a light out in the forest!" Simon found his weapon and pulled back on the bolt, readying it for action. He shut the door of the truck and saw the three soldiers staring at what looked to be a dark-blue light shining deep in the forest. A fourth soldier with the insignia of an _Unteroffizier _joined the group. Lange ignored him for a moment and turned to Simon.

"_Gefreiter_, take Heinrich and Sommer and investigate that light." he ordered.

Simon's eyes widened "Uh, sir, with all due respect, why are you only sending the three of us out?" he asked, with a slight hint of fear in his voice.

"We can't risk more troops then necessary, but we need to make sure that these things…" he explained, motioning to the dead creature "…do not pose a threat to the Futher's invasion. Understood?"

"_Jawohl_" Simon repeated, with a tone of misery. _So much for all that "honor" you were talking about ten minutes ago._

Simon glanced at the two soldiers (both of whom looked as nervous as he did) and made a circular motion with his finger. "Form up behind me, and stick close."

He glared at Lange, who was busy having a conversation with the _Unteroffizier_. He sighed, and walked into the woods with his gun raised and the two _Soldats_ following closely behind.


	2. Waldeinsamkeit

The three soldiers slowly walked through the dark woods with their weapons raised. Navigating by the light of the moon, they carefully made their way around fallen trees and bushes as they got closer to the blue light. It was dead quiet, save for their boots crunching the dry pine needles underfoot.

Simon was in the lead, holding his submachine gun by the waist as he squinted at the light that seemed to be getting brighter the closer they got. He never fired his weapon outside of basic training as he mostly drove supply vehicles (a fact that he felt he should have brought up to the Leutenant before going out here, but it was too late for that). He took several deep breathes as he tried to remember what his instructor taught him about using that gun.

_Fire in short, controlled bursts. Keep a firm grip on it or you will lose control from the recoil. Always…_

"_Gefreiter_, do you hear that?"

Simon turned to look at Heinrich, the tall German. "What?"

"I can hear some kind of faint sound wafting from the trees" he responded.

Sommer, the younger soldier, lowered his rifle slightly "I can hear it too. It's like some kind of faint… music…"

Simon gave them both a strange look, but stood in silence for a moment. Then, he could hear it. It was a slow tune, barely audible, but swept through the woods like a wind. "Sounds a bit like a horn…" he quietly noted.

The squad continued slowly walking toward the light. The bizarre music sounded like it was getting louder the closer they got to the light. After a few moments, the light's brightness and the music were almost overbearing. Simon suddenly felt extremely tired as he stepped into this bright blue light. Every step began to feel like a herculean effort to take. Simon felt his eyelids begin to close against his will.

"Hey…" he tried to say, but the words came out muddled like he was intoxicated. "Maybe we should…"

He tripped over something and lost consciousness as his head slammed into the ground.

* * *

><p>Simon was unconscious for what seemed like hours. Eventually, he slowly opened his eyes to see that he was looking upwards through the trees as sunrays gentle covered his face. He groaned and rubbed his eyes as he slowly rose up. <em>What the hell just happened?<em>

He surveyed his surroundings as he got to his feet and brushed himself off. He was standing on a circular stone platform in the middle of a courtyard surrounded by crumbling walls, one of which had a large opening. The _Gefreiter _bent down and picked up his submachine gun lying on the ground, noticing that the platform he awakened on had an image of what looked to be three golden triangles, arranged to form a larger triangle. _This looks kind of familiar…_

As Simon pulled the bolt back on his weapon to make sure it wasn't jammed, his eyes drifted upward to survey the wall behind him. It looked to be a closed doorway carved into the wall, guarded by two statues on each side of it. Above this door, the same triangle symbol appeared, but this time supported by what appeared to be some kind of golden bird, with wings outstretched. Simon glanced down at the right breast pocket in his uniform to see the _Hoheitszeichen _of the Third Reich; a silver eagle with its wingspan extended, resting on a swastika.

_Interesting _Simon thought as he rubbed the back of his neck. Seeing as how he wasn't going to get past this locked door, he was about to turn around and go through the opening, but a realization suddenly hit him. _Oh, crap…_

"Heinrich? Sommer? Can you hear me?" he called out, cupping his hands in front of his mouth. He got no response save for the wind gently blowing through the leaves of the trees. Simon frowned. _God damn it, this isn't good._

He took one last look around this strange courtyard, and walked through the opening in the wall. After walking down the path, the German found himself in a circular arena-like opening, with several raised platforms scattered around. Simon's eyes darted around the area looking for a way out. He didn't see any exit except…

_Oh, you've got to be kidding me._

A set of vines stretched down from the edge above all the way down to the arena floor on the other side. Simon walked over and tugged on one of the vines, testing its strength. It held. Simon took a deep breath. _Well, it's either this or starve to death down here, I guess._

The soldier sighed as he slung his MP around his shoulder and grabbed onto the vines. Taking a deep breath, he slowly began to climb. Steadily, he ascended. _Grab a vine, pull yourself up_ he mentally repeated _Grab a vine, pull yourself up. Come on Bienz, you can do this._

Half-way up the side of the wall, his foot suddenly slipped. Simon let out a sharp cry, and grabbed the vines with an iron grip. As he brought his foot back to the vine, he could have sworn that he heard a child snickering from somewhere. _Probably some kind of bird _he thought as he resumed climbing.

At last, he pulled himself over the edge and onto to solid ground. Simon rolled over on his back. "Natürlich." he said aloud. After a moment of rest, he got up and unslung his MP. He began to stroll down the path with a bit more confidence than before.

A minute later, he came to another opening and leaned against a tree. He reached down to his belt and pulled out his water canteen. Unscrewing the cap, he took a big swig of water.

"Hee hee. You look kind of funny!"

The German nearly choked on the water as he dropped his canteen and raised his weapon. He stepped out into the opening and wildly swung his gaze around. He heard laughter coming from above and looked up. A small gray creature with yellow eyes dressed in an orange tunic and a large matching hat was sitting on the edge above Simon, with a gigantic grin.

"How did you find your way to the Sacred Grove without my help?" it asked with a child-like voice, as its legs gently dangling back and forth from the edge.

Simon stared at the thing, desperately trying to comprehend what he was even looking at. "I…I have no idea…" he stammered.

The creature laughed "Heh, you talk funny too!"

_What? Wait, it only understands English_ Simon thought, as he nervously cleared his throat "Um, I don't know how I got here" he said, in English.

"Oh. Well, where did you come from?" it asked, still keeping a smile up.

"_Deutschland_" Simon responded, keeping the barrel of his gun pointed at the creature.

The creature stood up and folded its arms, trying to look intimidating. "Well, Deutschlander, I am Skull Kid and these are my woods!" it triumphantly declared.

Simon slowly nodded. "Okay, well, I'll be happy to leave your woods if you can show me the way out" he said.

Skull Kid giggled. "Sure, I'll help you!" he said. Then he jumped into the air and vanished. Simon blinked, dumbfounded. _Did I really just see that?_

As he was still staring, he felt something tap his back. He spun around to see Skull Kid standing less than a foot away from him, carrying a lantern and a horn-like instrument. Simon shrieked and instinctively pulled the trigger of his gun. Nothing happened. "You are so damn lucky that I keep the safety on" he muttered under his breath.

Skull Kid laughed again, and waved his lantern around. "Come on, Deutschlander, this way!" he said, before running off down the path. Simon quickly scooped his canteen off the ground and jogged after him "Wait up!" he shouted.

The two ran through the woods and across streams, with Skull Kid happily skipping along while Simon struggled to keep up with all of his equipment weighing him down. Eventually they came to a shaded area. "This is as far as I can go, Deutschlander" Skull Kid said as he came to a stop.

"Wha…what do you mean?" Simon responded, between bouts of panting.

For the first time Skull Kid's smile faltered slightly. "Skull Kids can't leave these woods" he said with what sounded like a twinge of sadness. His smile came back again "But I had fun with you! Too bad you don't have any weapons, or you could have played with my Puppets!" he exclaimed, giggling.

Judging from Skull Kid's tone when he said the word "Puppets", Simon wisely elected to not tell him that the he in fact had several weapons in his possession.

"Well… thank you, I guess" Simon responded as he turned to walk down the remaining path. Suddenly, he remembered his missing comrades. "Hey, um, Skull Kid, have you seen…" he started to ask, but spun around to see that his guide was gone. The _Geferiter _sighed as he walked down the path, but the sounds of strange music coming from somewhere in the forest reached his ears. "Wait…" he said aloud "That's the music we heard in forest…" he remembered the horn Skull Kid was carrying and nodded. _Nothing that can be done now, I guess, _he thought.

Without another world, the German walked down the path, and left the woods.


	3. Ropes and Interrogations

Not too far away, _Soldat _Michael Sommer began to groan as he opened his eyes. Slowly, the room around him began to come into focus. He appeared to be seated at a table in the middle of a small, room. He was looking directly at a wooden door. Right next to the door was a cabinet, and next to that was a table with several items on it. Michael frowned as he realized that those were _his _items on the table; his _Karbiner _98k rifle, his survival knife and his helmet were all lying next to what looked like a potted plant and some books. He tried to stand, but something tugged on his wrists. He craned his neck to look around behind the chair he was sitting on. "Oh no…" he muttered, as he saw that his hands were tied together behind the wooden chair. "Damn it…"

He sighed. "Might as well meet my captors, I guess" he said. He started shouting "Hey! Hello? I'm awake in here!"

Michael heard a brief commotion as several voices started unintelligibly arguing behind the locked door. He waited a moment, until the voices stopped and the door opened. He lifted his eyebrows slightly in surprise upon seeing the people who entered.

The first was a blond-haired man in a dark green and while tunic with a stupid moustache. He glared at Michael, and stepped to the side of the door with his hand on a sword strapped to his back, ready to draw it if necessary. The second was a bald man of considerable girth wearing a white shirt supported by some kind of strange, padded belt around his waist. He had very bizarre facial hair as well; two tufts of white hair jutting out from each cheek. He noticed Michael staring at his hair. "Watcha looking at?" he asked in English, frowning.

"Nothing, sir" Michael answered in the same language. The man looked surprised "You speak Hylian?"

Michael shrugged "I guess so."

The man stared into Michael's eyes as he leaned on the table. "Who are you and what are you doing in our village?"

"Well sir, in answer to your first question." Michael replied, leaning back slightly "I am _Soldat_ Michael Sommer, assigned to the 33rd Infantry Division of the _Heer _branch of the Wehrmacht forces in service of the Third Reich".

Michael smiled with amusement as his interrogator took on a look of utter confusion. "So, you're…" he began.

"And in answer to your second question, I have no idea where I even am, let alone what I would be doing here" Michael interrupted. "Now, if you would be so kind as to tell me what this place is…"

"You're in no position to ask questions" the guard at the door snapped.

"Hey, _Arschgesicht_, I think I have a right to know why I'm being held captive!" Michael yelled.

The guard stepped forward and was about the say something, but was cut off by the older man "Rusl, he's right, we should tell him."

Rusl stepped back and folded his arms as the older man began to speak "You are in Ordon Village, lad. I am Bo, the mayor of this community."

_Why do some many leaders have such ridiculous facial hair?_ Michael thought, briefly thinking about several historical rulers, even his own Futher and his stupid looking moustache (something Michael wouldn't dare mention out loud).

"My daughter found you unconscious in the pumpkin patch this morning" the mayor continued.

Michael raised an eyebrow "So tying people to chairs is what you usually do when finding them out cold?"

Bo nervously rubbed the back of his neck "Well…you see, we thought you were some kind of Twili spy."

Now it was Michael's turn to look confused "A what?"

"Well, the Twili only left Hyrule a month ago, and even though Link and the Queen assured us that they won't bring us any more harm, we're all still a bit nervous." Bo explained.

"It's hard to just forgive the people who took over your country so quickly" Rusl added.

"Alright, but I'm not some kind of spy for whoever the hell you're talking about," Michael said, as he pulled against his restraints "So can you please let me out of this chair?"

"Ah yes, well, for the safety of our village, I can't let you out until Link determines that you don't actually pose a threat to us" Bo stated.

_That name again _Michael thought "Who is this Link anyway? Some kind of witch doctor or something?" he asked.

"Did you just call the Goddesses' Chosen a witch?!" Rusl suddenly roared, nearly drawing his sword.

Michael leaned back again, startled. Bo stood up and placed a hand on Rusl's shoulder. "Easy, Rusl, the lad doesn't know any better." he said.

He turned his head to Michael and said "Listen, Link will be back from his shift on the Ranch in a few hours. If he doesn't think that you're a threat, then we'll decide what to do with you."

Rusl stormed out of the room, grumbling something. Bo glanced back at his prisoner for a moment, and then followed Rusl out, shutting and locking the door behind him.

Michael sunk down in the chair and sighed. "_Scheisse…"_

* * *

><p>"No…"<p>

Simon stared for a moment at the route ahead of him. "You have got to be kidding me…"

He was standing outside of the entrance to the Sacred Grove, looking at the rope stretched between the plateau and a piece of land on the other side.

Simon desperately looked around for another way across. He didn't see anything except for some kind of stone next to the entrance and a sheer drop off the cliff face. _Is this really the only way?_

He groaned as he realized that the flimsy rope was the only way off. Slowly, he walked up to it and looked down. He immediately regretted it as he saw how utterly high he was. He weighed his chances of successfully crossing the rope. Best case scenario if he fell off; he would break his neck on impact. Worse case; he would break his legs, and would slowly die of exposure on the cliff side.

"Ah, screw it" Simon said aloud as he tentatively placed a foot on the rope. It began to shake slightly as he moved it forward and placed his other foot on it. Slowly, he began to move forward with his arms outstretched for balance, looking straight ahead rather than down at the drop below him. _So far, so good _he thought as he passed the half-way point. Finally, he reached the platform the rope connected to. He smiled slightly as he stepped off, a smile that almost immediately turned into a grimace when he saw that there was more ropes he had to cross.

"Alright, fine, let's get this over with" he yelled out.

* * *

><p>Roughly twenty minutes later, the German collapsed onto his knees as he stepped off the final rope.<p>

"That… was… so stupid…" he muttered between bouts of panting. He tried to pick up the pace on crossing the second rope, and nearly lost his footing as a result. But he managed to recover and get across five more ropes between more natural platforms that look newer for whatever reason.

He got up and looked around. There was a wooden sign next to him with some strange language inscribed on it. Simon frowned as he tried to read it. _What is this? _he thought _Horror Kid or whatever the hell his name was spoke English, but this is…_

He sighed and shook his head. _It probably just says "Stay off the ropes" or something._

Turning his head, he walked into the forest opening in front of him.


	4. Debrief

**June 11****th****, 1940**

**Montrichard, France**

* * *

><p>Leutnant Lange nervously adjusted his cap as he stared at a painting of the beaches in southern France. He was standing inside the foyer in the home of some wealthy French man that had been converted into a headquarters for Army Group B, waiting to see one of the highest ranking <em>Generalobersts <em>in the Wehrmacht, Fedor von Bock.

After a few minutes, the two oak doors in the back of the room opened. The two guards who stood beside them stepped aside as several high-ranking officers walked out, some in conversation with their aides, others were reading slips of paper. When they were gone, a shrill voice cried out "Enter!" Lange hurried inside. The guards shut the doors behind him.

Inside was a simply furnished room. Swastika banners hung from the walls as Lange approached a large table with a map of France laid out on it, illuminated by a light hanging from above. On the other side of the table, a tall, and somewhat aged man with a thin mustache was rubbing his chin as he pondered troop movements and strategies. "Ah, greetings, _Generaloberst_" Lange said with a clear hint of nervousness in his voice. Bock looked up. "Sit" he commanded, pointing to an empty chair on the opposite side of the table. Lange obeyed, slowly removing his cap as he sat on the wooden chair.

Bock cleared his throat "So" he began, folding his hands behind his back "You are Leutnant Benjamin Lange, CO in the 33rd Division, correct?" he asked.

"_Jawhol_" Lange quiet replied.

"And you know why you were called up here, correct?"

"_Jawhol._"

"Then please, explain what happened last night." Bock said as he sat down in a chair across from the Leutnant.

Lange composed himself the best he could, and he began to retell the events that occurred deep in the Ardennes. Bock stared at him with genuine interest as he recounted the crash, the creature, the light…

"…we waited hours for those three to get back. But when the sun rose the light disappeared and I gave the order to continue on, taking the carcass with us." Lange finally concluded,

Bock leaned back in his chair and folded his hands together in a prayer-like position. "That's quite a story, Leutnant" he said "If I hadn't seen the creature you brought back, I wouldn't believe it myself."

Lange stiffened up slightly in surprise. "You did, sir?"

Bock nodded "Indeed. While your platoon was getting some rest this morning, I personally went outside and inspected it. I've never seen anything like it before."

"So… what are you going to do, _mein Herr?_" Lange tentatively asked.

"Me? I'm not going to do anything." Bock answered as he leaned forward "I have other priorities, of course, but some of the higher-ups are very interested."

Lange's eyes widened slightly as Bock continued "Berlin has informed us that two detachments of _Waffen _SS will arrive this evening. One will escort the creature back to the Fatherland, and the other will personally investigate the forest where your men went missing. I trust that you can lead them to the exact location, Leutnant?"

"Uh… yes sir, of course." Lange stammered. The Waffen SS were an elite force fanatically loyal to the Nazi party, only answering directly to Hitler and his inner circle. Lange knew that he had suddenly become part of something much bigger than he anticipated, and he wasn't sure that he wanted to be.

"Good" Bock said, waving his hand "You are dismissed." Lange rose up, and made sure to put his cap back on before performing the traditional military salute used by soldiers around the world. Bock smiled slightly "You were a veteran of the Great War?" he asked.

Lange nodded "Yes, sir. Served in the 57th Division in Belgium."

Bock chuckled "I don't see many soldiers using that loophole anymore." He stood up and returned the salute "Best of luck against the Futher's hounds, Leutnant."

"Thank you, sir." Lange replied. He then did a perfect about-face, and was about to leave the room, when he was stopped by a voice. "Oh, and Leutnant?"

He turned his head to face Bock. "Command wants you to keep this incident secret. Don't tell anyone about the events that happened last night. Tell the men of your platoon the same thing." the general ordered "No one can know about this until the Reich evaluates this new discovery and determine if it has use for us or not."

"No one will know, sir." Lange promised.

Bock sat back down and began examining the map again "You may go."

Lange nodded again, and walked through the doors, breathing a quiet sigh of relief as they closed behind him.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: Sorry for the shorter chapter, I've been rather busy lately. I will try to get more chapters out faster on the future.**


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